The Alberta Junior Hockey League hosted the Annual AJHL Coaches Meeting and Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors on May 25th & 26th in Red Deer, AB. The two-day event included professional development sessions, partnership proposals, and strategic planning with the participation of all 16 member teams.
The AJHL Board of Governors approved the logo change of three AJHL clubs, which will each be unveiled by the respective teams in the off-season. The Bonnyville Pontiacs, Drayton Valley Thunder and Olds Grizzlys will enter the 2018-19 season with a new look. Beginning in the 2018-19 season, all teams will wear their predominantly white jersey as the road uniform, and their predominantly dark uniforms as the home uniform.
Hockey Alberta and the Alberta Junior Hockey League will host the 3rd Annual Elite Development Camp from July 17-22 in Camrose, AB. Eighty elite athletes will receive both on and off-ice development directed by Hockey Alberta staff, and facilitated by the High Performance I Coaching Seminar delegates. The sessions teach athleticism, mental skills and team building as well as the technical and tactical skills required to play in the AJHL.
AJHL Main Camps will open beginning Friday, August 17th in preparation for the start of the 2018-19 AJHL Regular Season on Friday, September 14th. Each team will participate in 60 regular season games apiece, including two games at the 2018 AJHL Showcase. The 2018-19 League Schedule will be announced in mid-June.
The 12th Annual AJHL Showcase will be held in Camrose, AB from September 27th – 29th, 2018. Event details including scout packages, tickets, volunteer opportunities and the game schedule will be released in June 2018.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League will also have the unique opportunity to host three CJHL Events in the upcoming season. The Bonnyville Pontiacs will host the 2018 World Junior A Challenge from December 8th-15th, 2018. The CJHL Prospects Game will be held in an AJHL community on Tuesday, January 22nd; the host team will be determined and announced in the summer months. The season will conclude with the 2019 National Junior A Championship in Brooks, AB from May 11th-19th.
The AJHL Management Committee for the 2018-19 season will include Al Doll (Canmore Eagles), Wayne Lauinger (Okotoks Oilers) and Russell Jemieff (Calgary Mustangs) as the South Division representatives. The North Division will be represented by David Fitzgerald (Fort McMurray Oil Barons), Brent Stark (Whitecourt Wolverines) and Jeff Suggitt (Spruce Grove Saints). Thank you to Kevin Pratt, Pat Loyer and Gene Sobolewski for their service as outgoing committee members.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League is operating under the direction of Chairman Greg Wood and Commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk. The AJHL Staff consists of Fran Gow (Vice President, Hockey Operations), Charla Flett (Vice-President, Communications), George McCorry (Vice President, Officiating), Dean Laschowski (Video Review Manager), Curtis Nichols (Supervisor of Officials) and Ken Dentzien (Referee Assignor).
The 2018 AJHL Semi-Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, November 24th in Red Deer, Alberta.